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the Department of Public Works. They were not, they would still, in order to be used for
<br />residential purposes, they would have to get residential building permits and finalize
<br />those permits. So, and we would as, if the Special Permit were approved, we would
<br />recommend as a standard condition that the building permits be finalized for a residential
<br />use before any occupancy took place under the permit.
<br />SIRACUSA:I am also wondering about these buildings have been up there and
<br />theyve been charging rent, and what about the taxes, the, you know, the rollback taxes
<br />that they havent been paying on that? Can we impose a condition? What Im wondering
<br />is if we can impose conditions to make sure that their approval is contingent upon
<br />successful completion of the terms. Because they have not, I mean, they had lots of time
<br />and they have not complied, and I would really hate to grant a Special Permit. It would
<br />be like granting a pig in the poke, not knowing if they would continue to not comply. So,
<br />what Im wondering is if we can say, well, if you pay the rollback taxes, if you demolish
<br />theunpermittedbuildings,ifyouremovethesign,ifyoupaythepenaltiesasperMr.
<br />Yuen, Director Yuens letter, and final Building A, then, you know, to possibly defer
<br />looking at this Special Permit application until those other things have been taken care of.
<br />I think theres a question of trust here, and it has been violated. And I would think that
<br />the Commission would want some tangible show of good faith.
<br />YUEN:As I said, its a matter, if the permit were approved, we would
<br />require, we would recommend a condition that the building permits be finalized and the
<br />construction completed according to the building permit. As far as getting a building
<br />permit, to legalize any of these structures, there is a bit of a chicken and egg question.
<br />The structures, aside from the first home on the lot, would need approval to have
<br />additional dwellings on the property, would need either approval as additional farm
<br />dwellings, which is also an action by the, which is an administrative action by the
<br />department, or approval to, under this Special Permit, for the wellness retreat or center.
<br />So you could not, if you went in and applied for a building permit for the, to make
<br />dwellings of the additional, of the other unpermitted structures now, those permits could
<br />not be even processed, because theres no approval for the use of them as dwellings.
<br />The taxation question, we are not a tax-enforcing body. When you talk about rollback
<br />tax, Im not sure that there are any rollback taxes that apply here. Rollback taxes are
<br />applied when somebody has an agricultural, has dedicated the property to agricultural use
<br />and then, and thats dedicated for a set period of time. If they dont fulfill that
<br />agricultural use for that set period of time, then the favorable tax rate gets roll backed to
<br />the beginning. So, and I dont, Im not aware that this property was under a rollback tax,
<br />was dedicated to agricultural use; hence, Im not sure of the rollback tax. Jeff, do you
<br />know if theres a, we should have a letter from Property Tax Office on the property -.
<br />SIRACUSA:Yeah, I was, what my concern was is that, you know, when they
<br />tax your property, they tax a certain amount for land and a certain amount for structures;
<br />and if these structures are unpermitted, then the Real Property Tax Office doesnt know
<br />how many structures they should be assessing, you know. And, so, these people have
<br />most likely not been paying the, you know, what the tax should have been, given that
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